Review: Alexisonfire Deliver a FOMO-Inducing Set for Their Crisis 20th Anniversary
Photo: Steve St. Jean
On a textbook summer day, August 14, to be exact, local legends Alexisonfire returned home to bring Ontario two nights of early‑millennium post‑hardcore bliss at RBC Amphitheatre, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2006 platinum-certified album Crisis.
Coming along for the ride were scene veterans Underoath and the new kids on the block, Concrete Vehicles (formerly known as computer), hailing from Vancouver, BC.
The day started with a hit to Dine Alone Records’ headquarters and record store, The Dine Alone Store, in Toronto’s east end for the official Crisis pop‑up. I didn’t need another excuse to visit Dine Alone. Still, this time was special: exclusive Alexisonfire merch, limited‑edition vinyl with bonus 7” records featuring unreleased tracks from the Crisis era, and a slew of other Alexisonfire and Dine Alone paraphernalia.
Photo: Steve St. Jean
I couldn’t resist picking up the official tour shirt and an exclusive splatter vinyl, editions of only 1977, if you know, you know.
The next pre‑show pitstop was an east‑end favourite, Rorschach Brewing Co., for quick food and bevies before I headed over to RBC Amphitheatre.
As the sun started to set, the show kicked off with Concrete Vehicles, who played a short but electrifying performance. Their set felt tastefully chaotic, with each band member looking like they were giving it their all. If you’re a fan of slightly experimental rock with an edge (or if I had to pin down a band in their lane, Black Country, New Road), then Dine Alone’s Concrete Vehicles are for you. I’ll be making my way back soon enough to The Dine Alone Store to see if they have any of their Cut Ties 7” + a bonus track on the B‑side. This band was sick, and I became a fan immediately. Jump on the bandwagon with me.
Photo: Steve St. Jean
As the sun almost fully tucked itself away for the night, Florida’s Underoath hit the stage, fresh off announcing their own 20th anniversary celebration of 2006’s Define the Great Line. That tour doesn’t officially kick off until November 5 in St. Louis, so, despite the occasion, they didn’t play anything from the record. A little disappointing, but we did get a healthy dose of their 2004 release, They’re Only Chasing Safety, with stellar tracks such as “A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White” and “Young and Aspiring.”
The band played draped in shadows with bursts of glitchy, backlit blasts of colour and digital flames as they did what they do best: scream, drum, shred, and smash the hell out of their keyboards. Underoath never fail to impress and did what they needed to do: amp the hell out of the crowd and get them stoked for the main event, Ontario’s favourite Alexisonfire.
Photo: Steve St. Jean
And then it was time. The sky darkened to night, Modelo cans cracking in anticipation, and the oversized video screens towering over the stage started to flicker on. The show started with the video screens showcasing snow, not something anyone wants to see as we near the end of summer. Still, it was setting the stage for Crisis, whose album artwork and themes throughout the record hark back to “The White Death,” more specifically, for those who do not know, the Blizzard of 1977 that blanketed Western New York and Southern Ontario in a deep freeze. The intro went from flurries to a full‑on snowstorm visual, accompanied by archival footage and news clips from the blizzard itself.
The band sounded stellar and were locked in as they tore through the first few tracks of Crisis without saying much. There was very little talking, aside from a quick monologue from George asking fans to line up to fight to show their toughness (completely joking, then insisting no one fight). Wade took a moment to thank the crowd for spinning AOF CDs in their Discmans, especially those of us who have been listening to them for 20+ years, and anyone who was at these nostalgic bush parties in Beamsville.
This was probably one of the most badass digital video displays I’ve seen Alexisonfire have to date. Throughout the Crisis portion of their set, black‑and‑white graphics and video were projected of the band, featuring double-exposure glitchy videos, live‑feed halftone effects, and incredibly slick graphics to match the epic album they were celebrating. As they closed out the main part of the set with “Rough Hands,” a giant illuminated moon backlit the band as they finished the full album run‑through.
After a short break side‑stage, the band made their way back out onto the stage with fans erupting, eagerly anticipating more. How much more, though? Wade playfully teased us with, “How ’bout we play one more song?” “Or how ’bout two more songs?” and worked his way up to “5 whole songs,” laughing along the way. As they kicked off “Thrones,” a fan‑favourite bonus track from the Crisis era, the digital screens transitioned from black‑and‑white to full colour, ushering in a new phase of the show and with it, even more energy from the band.
Standout moments included “Pulmonary Archery” from the band’s 2002 self‑titled debut, when a giant wall of video screens dropped down in front of the band, overlaying video graphics and a live video feed to create a vibey mixed‑media live-show display. It was a bit weird, but also really cool, and I’m interested to see how this type of production can evolve and get even more badass. The band then really kicked things into gear with “Young Cardinals,” which had some of the loudest roars from the crowd as George Pettit egged the audience on for more energy. The last song of the night, “Happiness by the Kilowatt” from 2004’s Watch Out!, featured a surprise cover in the middle of the song with Wade MacNeil singing parts of Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” creating a singalong with the fans that, to be honest, was somewhat emotional to be a part of. It was an honest, pure moment where we were all truly connected as we sang back to Wade, “rock and roll is here to stay.”
What a show. At a time when Alexisonfire are back in full form and new music is apparently on the way, Night 1 felt like both a celebration of where the band has been and a reminder of why they still matter. Twenty years later, Crisis remains a certified platinum banger and one of my favourite records in their catalogue, and hearing it front to back with thousands of other people was something special.
Check out all the concert photos from the night, featuring galleries from Concrete Vehicles, Underoath, and of course, Alexisonfire.
CONCERT PHOTOS
ALEXISONFIRE
SETLIST
Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints
This Could Be Anywhere in the World
Mailbox Arson
Boiled Frogs
We Are the Sound
You Burn First
We Are the End
Crisis
Keep It on Wax
To a Friend
Rough Hands
Encore:
Thrones (Crisis Bonus Track)
Sweet Dreams of Otherness
Pulmonary Archery
Young Cardinals
Happiness by the Kilowatt (with Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”)
Words & Photography by: Steve St. Jean
